я хотела отметить, что когда я писала свой коммент в этом ключе (преувеличение ради прикола, но однако отражающее мои мысли), это было 28 января, а всю бодягу про Level 7 я прочла только 16 февраля.

это вообще была моя реакция на Чат 2005 года

chesterbennington says to (13:16): 2 totally different environments.

chesterbennington says to (13:16): With Linkin Park we work in pairs and groups.

chesterbennington says to (13:17): With my solo stuff I kind of lived with Ryan while I made it so it was a totally different environment.

chesterbennington says to (13:17): We'd have parties and friends over WHILE i was recording. People would come in and listen. Very laid back and relaxed.

chesterbennington says to (13:18): We held true to certain important security measures, but people around got to hear it. But that would never happen on a LP record, it's more confined and serious.

chesterbennington says to (13:18): Just a different style.

chesterbennington says to (13:18): On my album we recorded everything in one room

chesterbennington says to (13:18): My kid could be on the couch playing video games.

chesterbennington says to (13:18): Very relaxing and different.

chesterbennington says to (13:18): LP is much more regimented, more like a MACHINE.

chesterbennington says to (13:19): Finely tuned machine or race car is LP.

chesterbennington says to (13:19): Really tight and really good.

========================

Сегодня у меня много чего в голове пронеслось ))) Хочется верить, очень надеюсь, что Честер во всей этой заварухе всего лишь жертва. Может его использовали в тёмную, хотели использовать его известность и имя для раскрутки нового рекорд-лейбла, который создавали......ну может для отмывания наркодолларов, для чего угодно.....как очередная игрушка миллиардера.
Думаю, что наверняка Честера и Генри свёл Райан Шак (у меня такое предположение) Шак мне никогда не нравился, от него несёт гнильём, а после подобных статей тем более.

Ещё одна ссыль
Feds seek to seize billionaire’s mansion in drug case

http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/2008/0 … drug-case/

тут уже пишут, что Честер отказался отвечать на вопросы.

Смешно звучит, что Николас помог Честеру завязать с наркотой. Хотя кто его знает, может и дал денег на лечение....когда Чез возможно чуть не помер где-нибудь в разгар вечеринки.....остаётся только гадать

============

может Честер считал это серьёзным бизнесом, может оно таковым и предполагалось, но в результате

Since leaving Broadcom, Nicholas has launched several enterprises that have gone nowhere. Level 7, a recording company he started with the band Linkin Park, is now in what he calls "suspended animation."

(Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions) - что-то типа по-русски "в замороженом состоянии"?
========
JK is doing an online format release and DBS is through warner unfortunately

Честер пишет сольник на Ворнере? интересненько....правда, я нигде про это не читала

Короче, по-видимому Level 7 уже никак не повлияет на выпуск альбома Dead By Sunrise

Kenji Kato worked for Nicholas from October 1999 to April 2006

DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO MAY2^2007

wwwocregister.com/newsimages/news/2007/07/Kato%20Declaration.pdf

LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT
m 102007
JOHNA.CLARKE<CLERK
BY VICTOR E.^SINO-CRUZ, DEPUTY
Joseph M. Kar (SBN 207414)
LAW OFFICE OF JOSEPH M. KAR
15250 Ventura Blvd., Suite PH-1220
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Telephone: (818)501-6930
Facsimile: (818)501-6935
Attorney for Plaintiff, KENJI KATO,
Dmitry Y. Gurovich, Esq. (SBN 181427)
Elon Berk, Esq. (SBN 209642)
GUROVICH, BERK, & ASSOCIATES, APC
15250 Ventura Blvd., Suite PH-1220
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Telephone: (818) 205-155 5
Facsimile: (818)205-1559
Attorney for Plaintiff, SCOTT KATO,
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT
)
KENJI KATO, as an individual; and SCOTT) Case No.: BC 362 424
KATO, as an individual, )
) DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO
Plaintiff, )
) HEARING DATE
)
HENRY T. NICHOLAS III, an individual;) DATE:
LEVEL 7, LLC, a California Limited Liability ) TIME:
Company; THE MANAGEMENT) DEPT.:
COMPANY, LLC, a California Limited)
Liability Company; NS HOLDINGS, LLC, a)
California Limited Liability Company, AKA)
NICHOLAS ENTERPRISES; STEVEN)
SILVERSTEIN, ESQ.; SILVERSTEIN &)
HUSTON, an business form unknown; and)
CRAIG GÜNTHER, ESQ.; and DOES 1)
through 10, inclusive, )
MAY2^2007
9:00 AM
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATOPage 2

I, Kenji Kato, say and declare,
1. I am a Plaintiff in this action. I make this declaration with personal knowledge of
the facts herein. If called upon to testify, I could and would competently do so.
2. In 1999,1 was in graduate school at Pepperdine University attending law school
and business school simultaneously. I was recruited for work by Dr. Henry T. Nicholas in
connection with my brother, Dean. My first duties for Dr. Nicholas included acting as his
personal bodyguard, assisting with logistics, transportation, and relaying messages from his
executive assistant, Beth Kuhns. Dr. Nicholas seemed very grateful for our services and he and I
had a good relationship at that time.
3. I began working for "Nick," as he like to be called, and for Broadcom in October
1999 along with my brother and sister, Dean and Denise. While working for Broadcom, we
would help with tradeshow duties which included customer entertainment, transportation,
security, reservations, and VIP services. Typically, we would check in to the hotels for Nick,
and provide him with his special requests such as beverages, food, music, etc. On a typical
tradeshow, we would arrange transportation for him, other Broadcom executives, and for
Broadcom customers. Often, we would escort a group from the tradeshow to customer dinners,
concerts, parties, and private events, in an effort to entertain the customer and help facilitate
closure of business deals for Broadcom.
4. We also provided these services personally for Nick. Typically, he would contact
us and make arrangements in advance. We would entertain him, and his guests, by arranging
lavish events, dinners, concerts, parties fit for only Billionaires. This included private jets,
limousine transportation, backstage passes at concerts, meet and greets with high profile bands,
catering and arranging large parties at his home, and creating private parties for Nick's friends.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATOPage 3

5. After sometime working for him, from between 1999 and 2001 Nick had been
very pleased with our work and performance. He would repeatedly tell my brother and I that we
helped him close business deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the tradeshows we
worked at. Nick said that we were like family to him, and that he was going to give us
Broadcom stock options as a reward for our work for him and Broadcom. His promises and
incentives made us work harder and longer for him. Nick would give us a sense of security and
used his words to keep us loyal to him and his business. But, his promises of benefits, such as
health and stocks never materialized. 1 came to realize that my health, finances, and security
were severely compromised by a man who only made promises and threw tantrums only to get
what he desired at the moment.
6. In the beginning, our duties were very innocent and clean. Our policy was not to
get involved in anything that would compromise our employment and integrity. However, drugs
seemed to be one of Nick's passions, and he would use them whenever he had the opportunity
and he would encourage those around him to indulge as well. He would not take "no" for an
answer sometimes, and would pressure me to carry an extra supply of drugs in case he ran out or
pick up packages for him. I came to learn that his packages and the "medicine bag" he carried,
often had a stash of drugs (such as cocaine or ecstasy).
7. Nick was always very demanding, he "worked and played" very long hours all the
time. He yelled at people regularly, including me. It became apparent over time that he used
drugs on a regular basis. He also had many girlfriends throughout his marriage. I would often
be forced to get in the middle of all of these "extra-curricular activities" at Nick's demand.
8. There were very few people that I could confide in at work due to the nature of
the circumstances and his behavior. One person who saw a lot and understood my pain was
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATO - 3

me regularly. The first time I used cocaine was when Nick shoved a tiny spoon up my nose
because I was falling asleep, while he was talking to me. I had been up all night with him. Othei
times, he would hand me a pill of ecstasy and demand that I take it. I didn't really feel like I had
a choice. There were several times when he severely reprimanded and yelled at for not having
enough drugs on hand for him too. He would order me or others to get more.
24. Nick's party lifestyle definitely took its toll on him too; and, it affected his work
and marriage. Nick regularly ordered me to lie about his whereabouts on numerous occasions.
Rather than be at work or with his family, he was spending more and more time partying with his
stable of women. More and more of my job became dedicated to dealing with his personal
matters instead of business and work I was hired to do. Catering to his personal affairs and drug
induced conduct made my job more intolerable and consumed inordinate amounts of time. My
"responsibilities" increasingly became concealing and covering up for Nick, while being forced
most times to party with him.
25. At times when I was required to stay at Nick's home, in the guest bedroom, he
would wake me up, and make me drink and do drugs with him, because that was one of his
favorite things to do. Over time, I got sucked into his extreme lifestyle. For example, it became
a normal routine to watch the sunrise while being surrounded by drugs and women, and then
having to conceal it from the rest of Dr. Nicholas' employees and his wife. It was very difficult,
stressful, and unhealthy for me, but he demanded that of me regularly.
26. I had thought of quitting many times but my loyalty to him was important and I
know he did not have many others to rely on at the time. Nick also made it virtually impossible
to leave him too, there was an unspoken rule of absolute loyalty to him "or else." So, I really
hoped that he would be able to repair his marriage or get over his other problems. Nick is a great
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATO - 8Page 9

28
man, except for his personal excesses. But, he could not amend his ways while I worked for
him. His sexual cravings and drugs overpowered his life, and sometime in 2004, this became
apparent to his wife.
27. As divorce proceedings loomed, Nick's behavior became more erratic and
negative. His drug use increased. He hired a regular prostitute, Denise Boudreau, to work as his
assistant — and, I have seen her supply him with black tar heroin, speed, GHB, cocaine, and other
drugs.
28. I was required to help train her to be Nick's assistant. But, she was clearly not
qualified for the position due to limited education, and our mutual dislike for each other. She
began to create a rift between Nick and I. She competed with everyone for his attention and she
wanted to be the one that he relied on for everything.
29. The drugs and sex that she supplied made him extremely difficult to deal with.
He began staying awake for even longer periods, sometimes four to five days at a time. His
behavior became completely intolerable at times. He would yell and scream at everybody, no
one was immune to his rage. His lifestyle became very messy, his mansion was cluttered with
equipment, cardboard boxes, and junk, which we were not allowed to clean up on a regular basis.
30. Nick demanded things to be left where they were, which eventually became
unsanitary and unhealthful. For instance, there was mold in the basement of the Telescope
House, and clutter on the floor that made it difficult to move around the house. My staff and I
were required work in that unhealthy, dangerous, and hostile environment. The mansion was
literally full of clutter and there was very little open space in order to move about (the floors
were covered with boxes of equipment and books, even in the hallways). I was often required to
work on my bed, since there was stuff everywhere else.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATOPage 10

31. Even though I was able to hire on a staff to assist me with providing 24-hour
assistance, seven days a week, I began to question my job safety and security. Nick was
constantly on drugs, and his behavior was more erratic than ever. He could not remember things
well, he became regularly confused, and would not make sense sometimes.
32. During that time, Craig Günther or 1 had to answer on his behalf quite frequently
because he no longer answered his phone regularly. My staff and I would have to try and
physically catch him when we could to sign paperwork and to relay messages. There were
several employees that were physical struck, shoved, grabbed, and generally assaulted by Nick
over relatively minor issues. For example, Jack Komonee, Alex Barajias, Scott Kato, David
Elvenia, and myself were separately attacked by Nick. I personally had a cell phone thrown at
me, and in one incident Nick shot me with an air gun, among other times he shoved me and such.
Nick also carried knives with him all the time. He even had a several large swords around the
house and he played and acted out with. On one occasion, he swung a sword very close to me,
intending to show me how it was done, but it was also very intimidating/terrifying.

33. Towards the end of 2004, he decided to create a media company called Level 7. I
was the first person to come onboard and help him develop this company. Our objective with
this was to help some of our musician friends make records and distribute them under a cutting
edge, technology oriented business model. We built recording studios, and hired musicians to
record music and create content for Level 7. I assisted with artist management, accounting, and
business development. As a start-up company, there was many holes to fill, I was ordered to
handle virtually all aspects of the business, however I was still responsible for my other duties of
supervising Nick's personal needs and properties.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATO - 10Page 11

34. Unfortunately, Nick's pain, suffering, and drug abuse were extreme, and it was
difficult to discuss and handle business matters with him. He would routinely miss meetings, not
return calls, and blow off important issues or business matters. It was increasingly difficult to be
associated with an endeavor, Level 7, that was headed by a person, Nick, who would rather
always party than work.
35. At times, Nick could not remember what he ordered me to do the day before. I
was often challenged because his thought processes were impeded by his constant drug abuse.
He also regularly took prescription painkillers, such as Vicodin, Vicophrophen, and Valium. In
addition, 1 saw that he was still using large quantities of cocaine, crystal methamphetamine,
GHB, and heroin.
36. It was very sad to see him like this, the Nick that I first met was much stronger
and healthier than the person I ultimately came to work for. He regularly stayed in his bedroom
with his girlfriend, and rarely had people over. He no longer socialized with friends, or saw
much of his family. He even avoided me as much as possible, I'm not sure exactly why either.
37. I assumed it was out of shame or guilt. I believe that much of his negativity was
generated so that he would not have to deal with his many day to day problems. It was difficult
just to get him to sign important documents, which was one of my duties. Months before I left,
he became very reclusive, locked in his bedroom or office and only confided with the sordid
women in his life. As an employee and friend, I felt I had a duty to protect him, as I did over the
years, from people who would try and take advantage of his wealth and power. But during this
time, I could not help him — he wouldn't not let anyone. Drugs and sex were all he wanted, and
I could not be involved in that anymore.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KATO - KATO - 11 -Page 12

38. As he became more detached, even from his family and other employees, my
duties became more burdensome. I was working more than double full-time, yet he claimed to
keep me as an "independent contractor." Even though I was under his direct supervision and
specific instruction for about seven years, he withheld all benefits and overtime pay from me. In
the past, while at Broadcom, Nick regularly promised me benefits and stock options. He said he
would "take care of me," and that "I had a job for life," or other words incentivize me and others.
39. I felt obligated to work on weekends and holidays at his demand, while Nick still
owed amounts over-due and unpaid totaling $150,000.00 by March 2006. Those amounts were
for past wages and work representing about 1500 man hours of work, as well as expenses
advanced. The whole circumstance, on top of Nick's increasingly abusive and intolerable
conduct, and overdue money owed to me, everything ultimately led to me walking off the job on
about April 2006.
40. I regularly had heated arguments with Nick over his condition and behavior, and
our relationship soured severely. He stopped paying me my hourly wage regularly, but he still
demanded that I work for him. When I tried to get my invoices and pay approved, he resisted
and would refuse discuss the matter. To the end, he began avoiding me as much as possible
which caused an extreme amount of stress in my life. He made it impossible for me to do my job
for him and Level 7. I started feeling chest pains and having trouble sleeping. I began realizing
that I could no longer work for Nick, and that I had to quit.
41. Nick acknowledged to others that he owed me money, but he would not pay up
and disregarded the consequences of the financial pressures he caused me. He often used his
"purse strings" to try to control me. I could no longer live with that manipulation.
DECLARATION OF KENJI KAÏO - KATO - 12Page 13

42. After I left, in about April 2006, Nick falsely told others that he had fired me and
that I was a bad employee. Months after I left, on about October 2006,1  was informed and
believe that, Nick even went so far to claim that I had stolen (embezzled) money from him,
which was not true. I did in fact quit and was not fired, and through it all I was loyal and honest
to Nick, and I was deeply hurt by his remarks.
43. I have been also under the treatment of a psychiatrist, David Glaser, M.D., for
personal and emotional issues arising from working for Nick.
I declare under penalty of perjury of the State of California that the foregoing is true and
correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed at ¿-¿¿> <tu(,i^£i, , California, on March ¿L, 2007
KenjtKato - Declarant

Chester Bennington talks about his 'moody' solo album, 'disarray' at the VMAs

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/09/ … nning.html

Sep 9, 2008, 09:26 PM | by Shirley Halperin

For all the pop pomp and circumstance that the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards rolled out, some of MTV's rock stars felt a bit left out. "Where were Foo Fighters and Nickelback?" says Linkin' Park's Chester Bennington. "Or even a band like Three Days Grace, who had a pretty big year? There was no Vampire Weekend or Daughtry. It was very one-sided." The singer describes Sunday's extravaganza as "raising the bar of confusion and disarray. The VMAs are consistently cluster-f---s, and this year set a new standard." Part of the problem, he says, was the that the main room had "more seat fillers in there than celebrities, and you had people who were invited sitting out in the streets. Plus, everybody was texting, no one was watching the show. I got super bummed out."

Carrying the torch for MTV's rock veterans has always been a difficult task, but never as much as this year, says Bennington. "I think the VMAs have completely lost touch with a broad scope of music. It was very bubble gum and Disney, which is why bands like Foo Fighters, and everybody else in my group weren't there. Honestly I didn't think we were going to win, because we literally felt like we were too old." But Linkin Park did nab a moonman for "Shadow of the Day" (off of the double-platinum album Minutes to Midnight) as Best Rock Video. And Bennington reveals that before his band's next album, due out next year, he'll release one of his own. "It's going to kick ass. I started working on it in 2005 when we took a seven-month break.  I wanted to do something creative in that time off and I had songs that I knew weren't Linkin Park songs, but I thought were good. Then we started working on Minutes to Midnight and that's all I've been doing for the last two years. Now that we're done, I've got this body of work that is strong — very moody, very dark and melodic."

The album will be released by Linkin Park's label, Warner Bros., sometime in 2009. As for whether it's a solo effort or a side project, Bennington admits he's been kicking around some band names: "We were called Snow White Tan for a while, and then I changed the name to Dead By Sunrise, but I really just like Chester Bennington."
As for Linkin Park, they head to China next month for the second time, where they'll be playing to crowds as large as 40,000 as part of the Music For Relief tour. "China is booming," he says. "they have as many millionaires as we have people." But when it comes to the music business, things don't work quite the same way. Bennington explains: "For every hundred thousands records sold legitimately, there are probably a million of that same album sold illegally. It doesn't feel much different than New York."

Ryan Shuck расказывает как познакомился с Честером

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCFbKqZrz0

Exclusive interview with Christian of Cyclefly!

http://lplive.net/interview3.php

спасибо ! там отличные переводы!

щас ещё задумалась, что мужик, который костюмы для Kick The Bass делал, тоже наркоман со стажем и многолетний друг Честера............мдяя дружки у него скажем прямо

и я про тоже, с кем поведёшься, с тем и наберешься

видела фотки с THIS SATURDAY! "Kick The Bass" Release Party in LA, Честера на них не было, думаю, если б он туда пошел, его бы точно сфоткали.